The 1st Division is a formation of the Nigerian Army, which traces its history to 1967. It was established during the Nigerian civil war and is charged with securing its Area of Responsibility (AOR) covering the North Western flank of Nigeria and also ensuring that the borders located in its AOR are secured. The division is a mechanized infantry with affiliated combat support and combat service support units.
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In August–September 1967, 1 Area Command at Kaduna was redesignated 1 Infantry Division, and 2 Division was formed under Colonel Murtala Mohammed.
"At the end of the Civil War, the three divisions of the army were reorganised into four divisions, with each controlling territories running from North to South in order to deemphasise the former regional structure. Each division thus had access to the sea thereby making triservice cooperation and logistic support easier. This deployment formula was later abandoned in favour of the present assignment of sectors to the divisions. Thus 1 Division with HQ at Kaduna is allocated the North West sector; 2 Division with HQ at lbadan South West sector, 3 Division with HQ at Jos North East sector and 82 Division with HQ at Enugu South East sector."
Division headquarters remains in Kaduna in the north-west.
Divisional components
Other formations of the division include the 3rd Brigade (Kano), 41 Division Engineers, a signals formation of brigade size, and the 31st Artillery Brigade. THe existence of 3rd Brigade at Kano was corroborated by a May 2015 report of 1,000 soldiers dismissed "for allegedly disobeying orders during onslaughts against Boko Haram militants in the North-east."
Commanders
Owoye Andrew Azazi was appointed the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Nigerian Army in January 2005, and subsequently appointed Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in June 2006.